Winter had finally come to Hyrule. First came the arrival of the frost, followed by the snow. At first, it had drifted down in small flakes, melting as they hit the ground. The water had long since froze in icy sheets, and the trees had been bare for quite a few weeks now. As the winter wore on, the snow became heavier and thicker, clinging to the ground and starting to pile up in large white mounds. The wind, cold and biting, froze anyone to dare step outside.

  Inside Hyrule castle, all was warm and pleasant. Fires blazed in the many fireplaces, warming the castle. Link, Zelda, and Anna were all sitting in the library, each doing his or her own activity. Zelda was reading, Anna was watching the snow drift down, and Link was sharpening his family sword. Ganon had been quiet since late that summer, since Anna had used the power of her pendant to defeat him, and Zelda and Anna welcomed the peace. Link, however, had been bored and restless since then. Anna broke the silence in the room by saying, "Isn't the snow pretty?" Zelda looked up from her reading, Link from his sword. For a time, they all watched the snow fall. Then, the peace was disrupted. The library door crashed open, and a young messenger rushed in.

" Princess.....there is news that Link may be needed up on Death Mountain. Everyone in Hyrule says there is evil coming from there once again....."

Link rose. Pulling on the coat that hung on the back of his chair, he opened the chest in the corner of the room that contained the three pendants needed to retrieve the Master Sword.

" I'll go get the Master Sword and see what this is all about. I should be back soon unless there is a problem." Link spoke this words grimly, and Anna and Zelda knew he would encounter a problem on Death Mountain.

" I'll come with you, Link," Anna offered, rising. She pulled on her coat as well, and Zelda left the library to get hers. " It'll be a long walk, since the paths up to the mountain are too narrow to take our horses on," Link said.

A short time later, the three of them were in the cave that would lead them to Death Mountain. There were many passegeways, all connected, that would eventually take them to Death Mountain. Their breath froze on the air, and the scamperings of the mice and the fluttering of bats' wings could clearly be heard. Link gripped the Master Sword in his hand, his expression grim.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of walking in the cold passageways, they were finally able to see the frozen outside world. They were hit by the wind and snow, and the ice crystals crunched under their feet as they walked. Then, they made their way up the narrow wooden steps built to take them farther up the mountain. They were icy, and were extremely hard to walk on. As soon as they reached the summit, the evil vibes hit them like waves.

" There is definately something going on up here," Zelda said. As they continued to walk, Anna closed her eyes and let the wind blow the hair back from her face. Her hand sought her pendant. The Triforce's image shone from inside it in the weak winter light. The snow was easing up a little, and the sun was showing through. Anna stopped walking, and Link and Zelda continued on a few paces. "Anna, hurry!" Link prodded, wanting to find the evil force that was on the mountain. Anna, however, could not hear him. Slowly but surely, an image flashed in front of her closed eyes. Agahnim. The name came to her out of the blue. She did not know what it meant, but surely Link did.

  " What is it, Anna?" asked Zelda. " Agahnim," Anna murmured.

" Agahnim?" questioned Link. He walked over to Anna. "Agahnim? Here?" Link asked, then spun around and started walking quickly. Zelda followed, and Anna fell in step with them.

  " Who was Agahnim?" asked Anna.

  " He was an evil wizard. He imprisioned myself and the other six maidens in the former Dark World," Zelda explained. " Link managed to rescue us all, and together, we broke the seal around Ganon's Dark World tower. When Link came to the end of the castle, he faced Agahnim. Link destroyed Agahnim, but obviously not completely."

" I can't figure out how he got here," Link muttered, half to himself, half to Anna and Zelda.

" I can answer that question, Hero," a new voice sneered from above them. They all froze. Anna sensed the pure evil force above them.Zelda and Link sensed it, too. Suddenly, a form, hazy as mist, appeared above them. It was Agahnim, the evil wizard. Link sprang back a few feet, hand clutching the Master Sword tightly.

  " Agahnim," he growled, "what are you doing here?"

"I am here to take what is mine, Link," Agahnim rasped. He floated downward until he was only a few feet from the ground. He turned to face Anna. " You have what I want," he rasped, pointing a gnarled finger at Anna.

" I don't have anything of yours," Anna hissed, her features hardening in anger.

  "Oh, but my dear, I do believe you do," Agahnim replied. " Give me your Triforce Pendant."

"I would never give you anything!" Anna flared.

  " Oh, but you see, I need the Triforce Pendant. It isn't nearly as powerful as the Triforce itself, but once I have it, I can be alive again," Agahnim replied.

"You-mean....you're a ghost?" Zelda said, barely above a whisper.

" Yes, for now, my dear Princess Zelda, but once I get my hands on that pendant, even if it means destroying all three of you fools, I will live once again."

" Take your best shot, Agahnim, it won't be good enough!" Link challenged.

  "If you insist, Hero," Agahnim answered. He fired spheres of energy at Link, who deflected them with the Master Sword. They flew downward, burrowing into the snow.

" That's the best you've prepared for us?" Link inquired.

  " Oh, no, the best is yet to come," Agahnim sneered. Just as he said this, there was a rumbling. Link, Zelda, and Anna turned. The snow, disturbed by the spheres of energy, had loosened, and was sliding down toward them, the wave it formed getting bigger all the time.

  " Avalanche!!!!" Anna cried, and the three of them tried to run. However, Agahnim used his magic to send Anna high up into the air. She hung, suspended, and watched as Zelda and Link ran from the avalanche that had formed. She watched as the snow gained on them, heard their cries of defeat and fear. And she watched, helpless, as the snow buried them both.

  "No! Link, Zelda!" she cried, feeling the tears of defeat and sorrow run down her face.

  "And now, it is time to hand over the Triforce Pendant. After I have it, you will join them." Agahnim said this with cool positiveness, then floated over to Anna.

" How dare you! Trying to destroy my brother and the Princess, then trying to take what isn't yours!" Anna flared. The pendant took on a faint, mysterious glow, then exploded with light.

  "What is this?!" Agahnim raged, then cried out suddenly, "Noooo!!!!! You can't defeat me....." With this, he fired a sphere of energy at Anna. It glanced of her shoulder, and although it did not wound her, she was stunned. She fell to the ground on her back, no longer suspended. The glow from the pendant stopped. "Now...." Agahnim said, floating downward, preparing to grab the pendant. Anna could not stop him, she was out cold, and as far as Link and Zelda were concerned, they would not be stopping anyone's evil plans anymore.....With a cackle, Agahnim reached out his gnarled fingers toward the pendant. Just as he was about to grab it, a voice said, "Hold it!" Agahnim looked down. "Noooo, it can't be!" he cried.

"It takes a little more than snow to stop me," Link said shaking off some snow. Zelda slowly unburied herself as well.

  " I shall stop you two pests!" Agahnim cried. Link watched as Agahnim fired two magic spheres at him.

  " Same old tricks,"Link said, and deflected them with his sword. Focusing power in the blade, he hit Agahnim with some of his own power. Agahnim was hit, since the Master Sword's magic could still damage him, ghost or not, and winced. Link continued to do this, and, at some point, Anna awoke. Slowly, she stumbled up, then went to Link and Zelda.

  " We need your help, Anna. Link can hold Agahnim off, but we're both still a little dazed from that avalanche, so Link can't get all his power to focus in the blade," Zelda said.

  "I'll add my powers to Link's, since I know it'll take awhile to build up enough power to destroy Agahnim by himself," Anna said. She undid the chain to her pendant, and held it up. It glowed, then exploded with light. Anna knew her powers were a little weak, too, so with hers and Link's combined, it would be just enough to defeat the wizard. Agahnim let out a cry as he was destroyed. He vanished. For a few minutes, all three of them stood still, not knowing what to say. Finally, all three of them let out a cry of joy. " We did it!" Anna cried, happily, and was answered by a whoop of joy from Link and a cry of happiness from Zelda. Slowly, the three of them calmed down. after a time, they made their way down the mountain toward the castle, where they knew a warm fire awaited them.

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